39 Wonderful responses to “Cherries Are Here!”

This, I think, is better: make the recipe for Jeni’s Sour Cherry Lambic Sorbet at http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/sour-cherry-lambic-sorbet and shake together 3 oz. of sorbet plus 2 oz. of your chosen spirit (gin does indeed work well). If you don’t have an ice cream maker, make granita. I tried the cocktail recipe above and was disappointed in both how minimal the cherry flavor was (even with vigorous muddling) and the high level of sweetness. And with the sorbet drink, you’re having the whole fruit.

Jan

I tried the muddled cherry-rum combo, but perhaps I did not get it right. However I was more successful with a “peachito”, inspired by your recipe. Blended lime and peach flesh and mint, then proceeded with simple syrup and rum – yum. Thanks!

Wow! The gin version topped with sparking water is quite refreshing in this unusually warm and humid weather that Denver is experiencing. Has anyone else noticed how heat and humidity really enhance cocktails like this and the mint julip?

Michael: Do you know where to get sour cherries in Cleveland? I drove over to the North Union Market at 11am after reading your post, and they couldn’t tell me definitively if they had them or not. They just said that if they did have any berries, I was too late.

Beautiful pics! Can’t wait to try that suggestion for smooshed cherries and lemon with amaretto on the rocks. Sounds like liquid heaven. I just made a batch of urban, the arab holy bread, that calls for mahlab, the ground pits of black cherries. With the rosewater undertones, I am experiencing of flavor and essence of cherry that I never knew existed.

Mmm, sounds like a winner. You don’t see a lot of stonefruit in cocktails — I believe there was just a piece in Imbibe on that fact.

I’m thinking cherries, either a barrel-aged rum like Ron Zacapa or a rye-heavy bourbon, and simple syrup that’s spent just a little while in the smoker, could work out very nicely. Maybe some lemon sage for a garnish… yum.

Kate in the NW

Come visit us in Seattle, you silly man. The cherries will be ripe and flooding the farmers’ markets right around the time the CA ones (i.e., the “fake cherries”) fade. Bings, Rainiers, and an exquisite variety (that doesn’t ship well, so don’t even look) called “Vans”. So dark they’re almost black. So soft and sweet, they’re almost jam, right off the stone. They make a fabulous shortcake fruit, or clafouti, or topping for ice cream, pancakes, you name it. Just pit ‘em and mash ‘em a little with a fork. Mix ‘em with cottage cheese. Roll in ‘em. Whatever.

Our neighbor grows pie cherries on the parking strip (urban Seattle is very agricultural) and they used to use their old VW bus as a platform to pick them from. Now their kids are grown, my daughter does the honors, in tie-dye of course.

devlyn

cdelphine

I have a sour cherry tree in my backyard so I didn’t even realize how rare they were until last year. (God bless the people who lived here before and planted a tree) We didn’t get many cherries this year so only had enough for one, single, amazing pie. mmmm